Handheld debris blowers are commonly used by homeowners and professionals alike for the removal of debris from outdoor surfaces such as yards, driveways, sidewalks, etc. Typically, debris blowers draw air into a blower housing through an air inlet and exhaust an accelerated air stream through an air outlet. The air stream is then channeled through a blower tube attached to the air outlet, wherein the blower tube may then be directed at the surface to be cleaned.
Because many blowers are designed for hand-held use, they are often made of lightweight materials. Although more powerful blowers may utilize a gasoline-powered engine to provide power, many lightweight consumer-oriented blowers utilize small electric (battery or corded) motors as the power source.
Although size and weight are criteria to consider in the selection of a blower motor, available power is also a factor. For example, a typical blower may be designed to draw, as maximum input power, about 1440 Watts (120-volt AC, 15-amp circuit at 80% load). With this as one constraint, manufacturers may design a debris blower to provide the desired output air stream characteristics.
Typically, debris blowers are designed to provide either: high volumetric flow rate (e.g., for moving larger masses of debris); or high air stream velocity (e.g., for dislodging/loosening debris). However, for a blower to meet both of these competing performance goals typically necessitates providing a blower with multiple and interchangeable blower tubes and/or blower nozzles.